Health is one of the biggest blessings in life, as it enables us to cherish our precious moments. When we are physically fit, we can perform at our optimum levels in our personal and professional lives. In the same way, psychological health helps us remain upbeat and have a positive attitude in life. When we speak about wellbeing, then individuals, as well as families, need to pay attention to their health and fitness.

It seems particularly true during the COVID-19 lockdown when everyone’s health appears to be at risk. The confinement has affected kids and the elderly the most, making them stressed and lethargic. As the restoration of normalcy is not immediately possible, it is imperative to take a few steps.

This article will list out some ways to provide your kids with a stimulus and inspiration to be healthy and well. You can incorporate some fresh changes in their life to make their routine productive during and after the lockdown. So, let’s start.

1. Arrange a Fitness Activity

Arguably, there can be no better way to utilize the available time by indulging in some activity and form of fitness. While jogging is not quite possible inside a house, running on the treadmill is. Likewise, you can engage your kids in karate classes through online tutorials. You can do so in a small space and minimal equipment.

Moreover, you can choose puzzles and mind games as a fun activity for your kids. It will boost their mental health.

2. Transform Their Diet

Diet is the single most important factor to consider for wellbeing, so it is time to enrich your kids’ diet. The smart way is to include some healthy elements in their regular and routine intake. The right blend of vitamins, folate, protein, calcium, carbs, and fiber will keep them healthy in the longer run. The natural sources include fruits and vegetables, coupled with some shakes and non-carbonated drinks.

You may also want to add an energy drink in the diet, but be sure to read the labels to identify the ingredients. Some supplements may offer a health boost but are not beneficial in the long term.

3. Enhance Their Creative Side

To keep your kids healthy, it is essential to pay attention to their psychological side too. If you want to awaken the creative side of your kids, then perhaps this is the right time to lift the cover over the canvas and the brushes. You can take some prints of their favorite images and put them up for a drawing. These images could be of the superheroes or the scenic spots, whatever your kids like. To make it enjoyable, you can announce rewards for accurate and creative paintings. This activity will sharpen the artistic skills and abilities of your kids and will allow them to think freely.

4. Go for a Brisk Walk

When it comes to being healthy, then there’s nothing like a walk or a good jogging session. The right way to involve your kids in this activity is to do it together. What makes it more interesting is a reward system to encourage to walk or run greater distances. In the lockdown, it may be difficult to go for a walk as usual. So, you may head to the nearest walkway or street to your residence to indulge in this activity. For keeping your kids healthy and refreshed, it is essential to do brief walks whenever possible.

5. Let Them Relax

No fitness routine or vigorous exercise can yield the desired result if it is not coupled with some sort of rehabilitation. So, it is good to take a break every once in a while. And do what makes you relaxed and reenergized. For the children, there can be nothing more fun than to connect with their long-distance friends and peers. It is also essential to allow your kids to play videogames as much as they want as doing so will keep them going.

Videogames are not just good for reflexes, but these are necessary to prevent monotony. It is good to keep a watch on the kids, but it is also essential to allow them to be themselves some times.

The Takeaway

Keeping your kids healthy and inculcating some productive habits in them is not an easy task. It requires constant and consistent efforts to make healthy activities part of your life. It is ideal to utilize this lockdown time to engage your kids in fitness activities and enrich their diet. It is imperative to take part in indoor activities as well as some occasional brief outdoor walks and exercises. A few changes in the routine would yield significant benefits during these testing times as well as in the years to come for your younger ones. Happy Parenting!

It’s a large world. When your kids were babies and toddlers, you might have always been there, and if you weren’t. you left them in the care of a responsible adult. However, as your kids grow, you’ll need to hold their hand less and less often. This can be absolutely nerve-wracking. So, here are a few ways that you can ensure they stay safe as they grow.

Help Them Develop a Good Judgement

There’s never a good substitution for supervision and knowing everything that happens in the life of your kids, but as they get older, they get more independent and they’ll need to be aware of their own instincts when it comes to what’s safe and what isn’t. They’ll also need the confidence to follow those instincts. That said, the typical teen’s brain is geared for being influenced by their peers, and this allows them to override that inner voice that tells them things like drugs are wrong when all of the other kids are doing them. If this happens, you might end up needing to check out some drug detox programs to help get them straight again. Assist your kids with the development of good judgment as well as social intelligence so that they’ll be able to resist that social pressure allure when they come across it.

Online

Face it. The online world can be a nasty place. Between explicit content, malware, predators, and other bad things, parents can easily find themselves facing a never-ending cycle of horridness as they try to fend off every negative thing their kids might find online. It can be a tricky situation to find yourself in and a bit hard to know even where to begin. There are kid-friendly browsers, parental blocking software, antivirus software, and the ever present temptation to simply ban the internet, but when it comes to internet safety, the most important step is to have a frank conversation and an open line of communication with your kids.

On Public Transportation

When you first let them begin using public transportation, go with them. Once they’ve gotten a bit used to it, let them travel alone but stay near them. Then they’ll be ready to go with a friend. Role play with them. They need to know what to do if they become separated from their friend. They need to know what to do if someone happens to pull a knife in their vicinity. They need to know what to do in the event of a mugging. It happens. What if their phone falls onto the tracks of the subway? What if they’re being stared at by a guy who just gives them the creeps? Get them a phone and have them call you once they board and get off public transportation. That said, make sure they don’t otherwise use it while they’re on board because it might make them a target.

Talk to your kids. Listen to them. This will keep you connected and make them feel safe. Make sure to introduce topics that’ll assist them with thinking, reflecting, and developing good judgment.

The day our kid is born is the happiest day of our lives and celebrating that day with love and vigour is every parent’s priority. However, it is not an easy task to accomplish as a lot of preparation goes into making a birthday party a success. If you miss any little detail, it may play spoilsport on the fun of the festivities. Hence planning the event is always a great idea. You can start with making a to-do list of everything you have to do and then arrange the tasks in a logical and optimum order as per priority, whether it is getting birthday cakes for kids or finalising the decoration.

To save you some time and energy, here is a ready-made to-do list to get you started with the birthday preparations. You can add or skips things from this to-do list as per your own ideas you have for the party.

Location

You can begin by selecting a venue for the birthday party. So, you will have to decide whether you want to party at a restaurant or diner or you prefer a private celebration at your home.

Decoration

Once you have finalised the venue, you can opt for an appropriate decoration. If you are celebrating at a restaurant, you can contact the people there to book tables in advance, brief them about the kind of decoration you need. If you are organising the party at home, you can base the decoration and the entire event on a theme that will excite the kids. Doing so will not only keep the kids interested but will also add a youthful and fun vibe to the proceedings.

Getting the birthday cake ready

The birthday cake takes the centre stage in an event like a birthday party, hence getting it perfect is very important. As its the kid’s birthday you are planning for, so a custom cake based on themes popular amongst the kids such as cartoons, superheroes, games, dolls etc. will be an apt choice. You can either bake the cake at home or order it online and get it delivered wherever you want. The latter will surely save you from the hassle.

Finalising the gift

You kid is every bit special and means the world to you hence the gift you choose should be equally special and meaningful. Gifts which encourage them to be more observant, creative and improve their analytical and cognitive skills should be preferred. A binocular, a walkie talkie, a zigsaw puzzle, monopoly, books, etc. are some of the gifts you can consider. You can also consider gifting him a family trip to his or her favourite destination as it will help you bond with your little bundle of joy.

Preparing the guest list

Preparing the guest list is very important as it gives you an idea about the number of attendees and their age group. As it is your kid’s birthday, so other kids will also be a part of the guest list apart from their parents and your own friends and family. You will have to make arrangements keeping the guest list in mind.

Food menu

Last but not least, you have to finalise the food menu for the guests. It should include things which the kids love as they are going to be a significant portion of the guest list. If you are not too confident of your own culinary skills, you can contact a good caterer and get it sorted. Make sure you do that well in advance to avoid any last minute hiccups.

With all these items checked off your to-do list, you can surely breath easy and be confident of having a rocking birthday party for your adorable kid.

It probably seems like it happened overnight: your baby suddenly transformed into an energetic toddler who is walking, talking, running, laughing and getting into everything. To celebrate your happy and healthy toddler, you want to do a room makeover, transforming the original nursery into a space that is more fitting for an active young child.

Fortunately, there are a variety of ideas and themes for your toddler’s room that will look adorable while not breaking the bank. Here are a few to consider.

Idea 1: New furniture

Whether you have a young boy who is all about cars or a little girl who adores trains and dolls, every toddler’s bedroom should have an area where they can spend quality and cuddly time with you. For example, a comfy chair and sturdy ottoman is a great place to read books together.

In addition to a cozy place for snuggling, invest in some colorful fabric bins and storage cubes for your kiddo’s toys; by keeping them on the ground, you can make it easy for your little one to learn the art of cleaning up all of those cars, trains and blocks.

Finally, change out the crib for a toddler bed. They use the same sized mattress but can be dressed up with themed bedding that tends to be reasonable in price and is super cute. Take your toddler shopping and see what patterns and colors he or she might like for the bed.

Idea 2: A space-themed room

If you have a toddler who is obsessed with checking out the moon every evening, a space-themed room might be just the ticket. Shop for decals that apply to the walls and can easily be removed later in designs like planets, cute aliens, astronauts and of course, the moon. Purchase stick-on glow-in-the-dark plastic stars and decorate the ceiling with constellations and add some space-themed artwork on the wall. As Parents.com notes, keep some of the accents non-themed like solid-color sheets, pillows and rugs — this way, you can easily update the theme as your toddler gets older and his or her tastes begin to change.

Idea 3: A room ideal for a tea party

Many little girls (and boys!) love nothing more than setting up and serving a fancy tea party. If this sounds like your little one, Babble has some ideas for a tea-party-themed room complete with a table and toddler-sized chairs that are perfect for a spur-of-the-moment serving of tea and cookies. Of course, the table can also be used for coloring, blocks and other activities as well; choose a low-to-the-ground table in a neutral wood shade and make sure the chairs are capable of supporting an adult weight — you don’t want to accidentally break a chair while in the middle of a fancy tea party. For the walls, stick-on decals can create a lovely flower garden accented with birds. You can also paint one wall a vivid shade like a deep pink or bright green to complement the bedding.

It may be hard to believe, but before you know it you will be redecorating the room again with a big boy or girl bed and other accessories. But for now, you are happy to transform your nursery into a cute and welcoming place for your toddler to play, sleep and cuddle with you.

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